Under the Mistletoe
by Fire The Canon
Summary: It's Christmas at Hogwarts, and Lorcan has no complaints about staying there if Lily Potter was there too. What will happen when they're stuck under enchanted mistletoe together? LilylunaLorcan.


_**Written for Alicia Mirza's Light and Darkness competition (round 3) using the prompts: Next-generation, LilylunaLorcan, Hope, Horace Slughorn, Ability, Just the way you are - Bruno Mars, "Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage." - Lao Tzu, "My sweet, sweet love. Thank you, Tickle Me Pink & Romance**_

_**Written for Clever Ink Slinger's Christmas Boot Camp using the prompt 'misletoe'**_

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**Under the Mistletoe**

"Stop watching her."

"Watching who?"

"Lily Potter. You haven't taken your eyes off her since she walked past five minutes ago bearing the Colour Changing Candy-Canes."

Christmas had well and truly set in through Hogwarts Castle. The school term was over, and everyone was preparing for the Christmas Eve Ball that was in two days' time. Students had gone home, and those who'd chosen to stay, were quite evidently basking in the having-no-classes glory.

For Lorcan and Lysander Scamander, they'd unwillingly been left at Hogwarts while their parents dealt with some foreign creature in the middle of the African jungle. Normally they'd take them with them, but this journey was too dangerous, apparently; and they didn't know when they'd be back.

Lysander had complained about it for days, saying how boring it was to stay here when no one else was, but Lorcan didn't mind. After all, Lily Potter was also staying. If there was any good reason to stay at Hogwarts over Christmas, it was her.

It was unknown why she and her brothers were also staying, as they were normally one of the first to leave, but for Lorcan, that suited him just fine. With her fiery red hair, round eyes, and the tickle-me-pink jumper she was wearing, it was enough for his heart to leap into his mouth just at the sight of her.

His brother – normally not so intuitive – didn't seem to miss the glances he gave her.

"Look, she's standing under mistletoe," Lysander teased. He gave Lorcan a hard nudge in the ribs – one that was returned with even more force.

"Shut up!" Lorcan hissed. "I'm not interested."

"Is that why you keep staring at her? Lorc, she's a lot younger than you, you know. And… she's virtually a cousin by everything but blood."

"Says you who snogs Lucy Weasley in every corridor," Lorcan growled. The Ravenclaw table was far emptier than normal days, leaving plenty of room for his brother to join him.

"I take offence to that!" Lysander retorted. "She doesn't like to be snogged in every corridor. Oh, look, she's coming our way. She is quite pretty… but only fourteen."

Lorcan scowled, and then blushed scarlet as the Potter girl sat down opposite the twins at the Ravenclaw table. She gave them both a wide smile, and then pointed to the front where Professor Slughorn was charming the Christmas tree in the Great Hall to sing Christmas carols when anyone walked past.

"Pretty cool, huh?" she said.

"Yeah, it is," Lysander replied. "Say, Lily, you got any plans in the next few hours?"

The young girl's brow furrowed, as if wondering why he was asking such a question. "Why?" she asked suspiciously. "You're not going to trick me into asking Professor Longbottom to be let off classes for the rest of the year, are you? I was in big trouble for that, you know. Mum and Dad questioned me for days as to why I didn't like school."

"That was James' idea," Lysander told her. "He just hired us for his dirty work. No, Lorcan here needs some help with… well, he has a special Christmas tree that needs attending to."

At that, Lorcan's eyes widened. "Wha – I don't…."

Lysander grinned.

Lily frowned. "Why can't you help him?" she questioned.

"I think he'd much rather like your help, Lily," Lysander replied, a mischievous glint in his eye. He stood from the table. "I'll see you around."

And he was gone.

"Is he okay?" Lily asked.

Lorcan shrugged, suddenly becoming interested in the patterns on the table. "He's just trying to make everyone miserable," he said. "Because Lucy's gone home, and he's stuck here."

"So, me helping you with a Christmas tree is miserable, then?" Lily questioned, offence in her voice.

"What? No, no… Lily, I don't have a tree. He was just making that up. We don't believe in Christmas trees… too many Nargles."

Lily raised an eyebrow.

"I mean…."

"I know what you mean, Lorc. I've known you my whole life. Well, I still have a few hours free anyway. All afternoon actually. We can go for a walk around the grounds?"

Hope filled inside Lorcan at her words. She wanted to go walking with him?

"Sure!" he said, and got to his feet way too quickly. His left foot clipped the edge of the seat, and he fell face-first towards the ground, causing students around them to snigger.

"Oh, Lorcan," Lily said, laughing. She climbed across the table and held out her hand for him to take. He accepted, his face the shade of one of his mother's dragon's blood potions she used to fertilise the garden. "You never did have the ability to stay on your feet, did you?"

Lorcan didn't say anything, but instead straightened out his clothes. Although she was only fourteen, her maturity always seemed to amaze him. Perhaps that was why he always thought of her as older. She was fairly tall – taller than other girls in her year – and her face gave the impression she was _at least_ sixteen.

How did Harry Potter keep the boys away from his only daughter?

"Shall we go?" Lily then said. "Maybe you should enchant your shoes so you don't slip over in the snow." She was teasing, he knew that, but it didn't stop him from feeling embarrassed.

No wonder he'd never had a girlfriend in his life. He only ever managed to embarrass himself in front of the ones he liked.

There weren't many people outside, so they had the place mostly to themselves. The air was quite nippy, and a gentle layer of snow was slowly building up on top of their heads.

They heeded this no attention, though.

"James tried to trick me into standing underneath enchanted mistletoe with Lucian Finnigan," Lily said after a long time of not speaking. "Does he not know Lucian's gay?"

"He is?" Lorcan asked. He didn't know the third year Gryffindor all that well despite he liked to hang around the Weasleys often.

"Well… everyone thinks he is," Lily corrected. "I mean… there's no certainty, obviously. But…."

She didn't finish her sentence.

"You would have kissed him if you were trapped?" Lorcan asked, trying to sound indifferent to it – slightly amused by her unfortunate situation.

"How else would I have gotten out?" Lily scowled. "James thinks I should have snogged a boy by now, so he keeps trying to get me to do it, so I can get it over and done with or something. He doesn't get the fact that… I'm not interested. I don't care."

"Oh?"

"I mean… I guess I find boys attractive, but not to the point that I want to snog the first one that moves."

"Yeah, I guess." This conversation was making Lorcan feel very uncomfortable. That blush was creeping up on his face again, and he was hoping she didn't see it.

"What about you?" Lily then continued innocently.

"Me?"

"Yeah… any girls… or boys?"

"Er, no. That's more up Lysander's alley," Lorcan answered. "I'm just happy to – er – do school."

"Yeah, that makes sense."

They'd reached a path on the grounds that would lead to the Lake if one walked far enough. It was probably frozen over now, anyway, so they couldn't do much if they went down there."

"Should we go back?" Lily asked.

Lorcan nodded.

It would have been a rather peaceful walk back to the castle if it hadn't been for Lysander who intercepted them on the way. He gave them both a wide, mischievous grin, and threw an arm across a shoulder each.

For a Hufflepuff, sometimes he wasn't all that friendly, Lorcan found himself thinking.

"So, what have you two been up to?" he asked. "Anything exciting?"

"Just walking and talking," Lily answered.

"Really? How boring?"

"Where've _you_ been?" Lily wondered.

"Around." Lysander gave a shrug.

"How boring," Lorcan mocked.

The re-entered the Great Hall which was still filled with loud noises and cheerful students. Most were standing around, talking to one another. Some were helping Professor Slughorn decorate the tree, and others were playing games such as Chess and Exploding Snap.

Lysander dragged them over to a corner, and was about to say something when a young boy came running over to him, a letter in his hand.

"Lysander," he said, panting. "Letter." He thrust it into Lysander's hand and then ran off again.

Lysander grinned, opening the package to reveal ten Chocolate Frogs which spilled onto the floor. "My sweet, sweet love. Thank you," he said.

"Lucy sent you Chocolate Frogs?" Lorcan wondered.

"Oh, no, these are from someone else. That other girlfriend I have."

Lily's eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to say something, but Lysander shook his head. "It's a joke," he assured her. "They're from Lucy. Look, you can read the letter yourself." He handed the it to Lily. "Bless her."

Lorcan rolled his eyes.

"Oh, just because you don't have the courage to let the girl of your dreams know you exist, doesn't mean I can't," Lysander said. "After all, haven't you heard the saying, _Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage_?

"No," Lily and Lorcan said simultaneously.

"Hm. Well, maybe I just made it up." Lysander shrugged.

"You're strange," Lorcan said with scrutiny. "More so than usual."

Lysander's only response was to shrug again. "Alright, kids," he said. "I've got to go and write my return letter to the lovely Lucy. Erm… enjoy yourselves."

It took a moment for Lorcan to realise what was happening, but it was a moment too long. "No!" he shouted, but his brother already had his wand out and was in the process of casting mistletoe above their heads.

"Well, well," he said. "Looks like the only way to get out now is by a kiss." Ignoring his brother's protests, he left the Great Hall, probably to find a place where he could respond to Lucy's gift.

Lorcan sighed, cursing.

"What was that about?" Lily wondered, oblivious to what the point Lysander had been trying to make was.

"I told you," Lorcan mumbled. "He's love sick, so needs to make everyone else miserable to be satisfied." He tried to take a step away, but it was like an invisible force was stopping him. He sighed.

A small crowd had gathered around now, calling out things to try and urge them to kiss.

Professor Slughorn joined them, his eyes darting to the mistletoe above their heads. "Oh – oh dear!" he said. "How did this happen?"

"My brother," Lorcan growled.

"Oh, well, I'm afraid there's no way out except for a kiss," Slughorn said, flustered.

Some of the students whooped and cheered, egging them both on. Lorcan could have sworn he heard Scorpius Malfoy calling out as well.

"What do we do?" Lily wondered.

"I guess we have no choice," Lorcan sighed.

The younger girl laughed nervously. "I never thought this would happen… you and me…."

"Hm, not this way," Lorcan confessed.

"On three?" Lily said.

Lorcan nodded. "One… two…."

"Three," Lily said, and she leaned in, brushing her lips against his.

Of all the times Lorcan had dreamed of a moment like this, it was everything he had imagined and more. Her lips were soft, her breath smelled of mint, and she was the perfect height for him.

Although she pulled away fairly quickly, she smiled at him, and he felt his cheeks turn a deep shade of red.

"Oh, there we are!" Slughorn said. "The mistletoe's gone now. What an uncomfortable situation for the two of you to be in!"

Lorcan could have thought of other words than uncomfortable, but at Lily's nod, he chose to keep his mouth shut. She may have been incredibly beautiful and smart, but he had to remember she was only fourteen.

And he had to treat her as such.

"Well, I'll be going back to the common room now," she said, blushing. "That was embarrassing."

Lorcan forced a laugh. "Yeah, let's hope it doesn't happen again."

She smiled. "See you around, Lorcan. Maybe if there's few people, I can sit at the Ravenclaw table for the Christmas feast."

"Sure." Lorcan shrugged. "See you." He watched her friends meet her at the door, biting his lip. _One day_, he thought. One day maybe something could happen. But for now, she was still just a child.

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_**So, in my head canon, Lorcan and Lysander were 7th years and Lily a 4th. They were going into 2nd year during the epilogue.**_

_**Anyway, I hope you liked. I had fun, because I've never really written them before. Don't forget to review :)**_


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